The present invention relates to a vehicular door opening and closing apparatus of a slide door for vehicles or the like.
Conventionally, there is known a vehicular door opening and closing apparatus of this kind such as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 24737/1998. This is a vehicular door opening and closing apparatus in which latch unit, lever unit and inside handle unit are arranged to a vehicular door independently from each other and respective units are connected and engaged with each other by rods.
The lever unit of the vehicular door opening and closing apparatus is provided with an open lever connected and engaged with the latch unit and an operating member on a compartment inner side via rods and the open lever is pivoted by operating the compartment inner side operating member to thereby operate the latch unit.
The open lever of the vehicular door opening and closing apparatus is pivotably supported by a base bracket supporting the lever unit at a door panel of the vehicular door separately and independently from a base supporting the compartment inner side operating member.
However, according to the above-described conventional apparatus, the lever unit and the inside handle unit are arranged at the vehicular door independently from each other and accordingly, a rod connecting the both members must be arranged at inside of the vehicular door and therefore, not only the assembling operation of the vehicular door becomes troublesome but also in the case of a vehicular door in which window glass is lifted and lowered, there is a concern that the rod arranging operation per se becomes difficult.
Hence, it is a technical problem of the invention to provide module of a lever unit and an inside handle unit.
According to technical means employed in the invention for resolving the above-described technical problem, basically, a lever unit is supported by an inside handle unit.
According to further technical means of the present invention, there is provided a vehicular door opening and closing apparatus comprising a base unit fixed to a door inner panel of the vehicular door, an opening operating member on a compartment inner side pivotably supported by the base unit, and an open lever pivotably supported by the base unit and connected and engaged with a latch unit holding the compartment inner side opening operating member and the vehicular door in a closed state relative to the vehicle body.
According to the technical means, the compartment inner side opening operating member and the open lever are supported by the base unit and the inside handle unit and the lever unit are integrated. Therefore, arrangement of rods, wires, cables or the like for connecting and engaging the inside handle unit and the lever unit in the vehicular door can be dispensed with.
Further preferably, the base unit may comprise a base bracket fixed to the door inner panel of the vehicular door for pivotably supporting the open lever, and a handle base fixed to the base bracket for pivotably supporting the compartment inner side opening operating member.
Further preferably, there may further be provided a locking lever pivotably supported by the base unit or the base bracket for engaging and disengaging engagement between the latch unit and the open lever, and a compartment inner side locking operating member connected and engaged with the locking lever and movably supported by the base unit or the handle base.
Further preferably, there may further be provided a lift lever pivotably supported by the base unit or the base bracket and connected and engaged with the latch unit, and a slide bush slidably supported by the lift lever, connected to the locking lever and engageable and disengageable with and from the open lever.
Further preferably, there may further be provided a coaxial shaft for pivotably supporting the lift lever and the open lever, a long hole in a shape of a circular arc formed at the locking lever and centering on the coaxial shaft, and a connecting pin portion formed at the slide bush and inserted into the long hole in the shape of the circular arc.
Further preferably, there may further be provided a locking actuator supported by the base unit or the base bracket, connected to the locking lever and connected to the compartment inner side locking operating member.